Soldiers wearing artificial legs, c 1915-1918.

Description

Postcard of British soldiers wearing artificial legs. The parallel bars are to support the men as they learn to walk with their new limbs. This scene was almost certainly photographed at Queen Mary's Convalescent Auxiliary Hospital, Roehampton, London. This specialised orthopaedic hospital opened in 1915 and was mainly devoted to fitting artificial limbs to British soldiers who lost limbs during World War One, 1914-1918, of whom there were around 240,000.